The folks at Blackbird Presents and Willie Nelson's team had a great idea for this year's Outlaw Music Festival: add some jam bands, foremost among them Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, who are on the current leg of the tour that stopped last night in Queens, NY at the historic Forest Hills Stadium.
The last time I attended the festival was in 2019, pre-Covid. The lineup was pretty country with Allison Krauss, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real and Willie & Family.
This year a light bulb went off: Why not add some jammy bands to the lineup? In addition to Weir, The String Cheese Incident and Los Lobos were on the bill. Deadheads showed up, looking for miracle tickets outside and spinning and swirling in colorful outfits inside.
The rockin' Los Lobos ("I Got Loaded") and bluegrass/jazzy String Cheese Incident ("Sometimes a River") were solid opening acts. Weir, fresh off Dead & Co's final tour, brought an 11-piece ensemble, including three horn players, a fiddler, pedal-steel guitarist Barry Sless and two of his Dead & Co. bandmates, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and drummer Jay Lane. Weir played lead guitar.
Their 10-song, 90-minute set opened with "Jack Straw" and closed with "Sampson and Delilah." In between, there was a lengthy section that started with "Estimated Prophet," segued into "Eyes of the World," took a detour with Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and then returned to "Eyes." With the horns, the medley steered into some noisy jazz with Weir doing his best to shape consistent solos. Lets's just say he's no Jerry, but we knew that. It might be best for Weir to add a lead guitarist to the group.
Just as Weir ended, rain started to fall. This hastened an early stage arrival by Nelson, wearing a cowboy hat, and his family band, which included Mickey Raphael (harmonica), Norah Jones (keys/vocals) and Waylon Payne (guitar/vocals). The latter two dueted on a rendition of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee." Now 90, Nelson sat throughout the show, rattling off crowd favorites like "On the Road Again," "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," "Crazy," "Funny How Time Slips Away," "You Were Always on My Mind," "Still Is Still Moving" and his stoner classic, "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me (When I Die)."
For the grand finale, Weir and other members of the bands joined Nelson & Family on a rollicking version of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken." Of course, the sky opened up at this point and rain began to pour down. It was a fitting ending to another stellar Outlaw Music Fest show. But this tour was even better than ones in the past. In fact, it's my favoirte concert of the summer.
Others who appeared on this year's tour included Tedeschi Trucks Band, John Fogerty, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Gary Clark Jr., Gov't Mule and the Avett Brothers.
There are nine shows left:
• 9/20: Bridgeport, CT. Willie Nelson & Family, Bobby Weir & the Wolf Bros and Particle Kid.
• 9/22: Clarkston, MI. Willie Nelson & Family, Bobby Weir & the Wolf Bros, the String Cheese Incident and Particle Kid.
• 9/23: Farm Aid 2023, Noblesville, IN
• 10/6: West Palm Beach, FL. Willie Nelson & Family, the Avett Brothers, Gov't Mule, Elizabeth Cook and Particle Kid.
• 10/7: Tampa, FL. Willie Nelson & Family, the Avett Brothers, Gov't Mule, Elizabeth Cook and Particle Kid.
• 10/8: Orange Beach, AL. Willie Nelson & Family, the Avett Brothers, Gov't Mule, Elizabeth Cook and Particle Kid.
• 10/11: Huntsville, AL. Willie Nelson & Family, the Avett Brothers, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Elizabeth Cook and Particle Kid.
• 10/13: Brandon, MS. Willie Nelson & Family, the Avett Brothers, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Elizabeth Cook and Particle Kid.
• 10/14: , Southhaven, MS. Willie Nelson & Family, the Avett Brothers, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Elizabeth Cook and Particle Kid.
• 10/15: Pelham, AL. Willie Nelson & Family, the Avett Brothers, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Elizabeth Cook and Particle Kid.
